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Opinions about University of Teesside,UK

Hey guys,

Can someone plz provide me some feedbacks about Teesside University, UK.
I'm planning to do MA in Game Art & I've gone through their course modules & it's very close to what I wanted. However, the feedbacks that I've got about the university so far has been mixed.
It would be nice if someone who has studied/studying at teesside give their opinions about the university.

Also, are there any other good Universities that has a masters degree in game art??

Replies

  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    I've also heard some mixed things, but since I didn't go there I can't comment really. you could check out Uni of Abertay Dundee
  • rags
    I did check out Abertay but the courses what they are offering are more into game development & games technology..I didn't find anything that was related to game art.
    So, am really not sure if that would be an option for me.
  • Vio
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    Vio polycounter lvl 6
    Hertfordshire have a game art one.
  • rags
    yes, I did check that one out too & was pretty impressed with their student works.
    I've currently short listed Teesside & Hertfordshire..Just not sure which one among them is better.
    However, I found Teesside to be offering more specialized courses.
  • Lazerus Reborn
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    Lazerus Reborn polycounter lvl 8
    Hert, look for there thread on here. They have a guy who represents them on here.

    From what i've seen it's brilliant.
  • rags
    I've seen that thread & yea, their works are really good.
    I've also sent him a mail, awaiting his reply..:)
  • TortillaChips
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    TortillaChips polycounter lvl 10
    I'm not sure exactly what Teesside is like, I've heard some things though. But if it was down to teesside or hertfordshire, it'd have to be hertfordshire.
  • rags
    I'm really having second thoughts about Teesside now that all you guys have recommended Hertfordshire..
  • Andreas
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    Andreas polycounter lvl 11
    Abertay Dundee's course does of course include game art. I know several fine artists that graduated from there. Teeside is also a good course, and Hertfordshire does seem to produce some very fine artists. Choices choices! :)
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    he's right though if you look at masters courses, abertays seem to be tech focussed. Which does surprise me
  • scotthomer
    Cant speak highly enough of Hertfordshire. If you've got enough self motivation to come onto here, then you'll do well at Herts. Uhanimation.co.uk has some more info on the course.
  • Andreas
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    Andreas polycounter lvl 11
    rooster wrote: »
    he's right though if you look at masters courses, abertays seem to be tech focussed. Which does surprise me

    Ah, I wouldn't know about the masters. I heard that their masters was basically supposed to be 4 Dare to be Digitals in a year, i.e. you work in a team to create 4 working prototypes. Not sure if it was 4, but I'm pretty sure it was.
  • Di$array
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    Di$array polycounter lvl 5
    Well I went to Teesside Uni to do Computer Games Art. So if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask away on here or in a PM and I'll do my best to answer them.

    If you are looking into Animation I cannot recommend Teesside enough as it’s the place to be for that subject (both 2D and 3D). But I've been really impressed with the work Hertfordshire, but then again they are only going to be posting the top students projects aren't they (yes I know Teesside will be doing the same as well :P).
  • Grimmstrom
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    Grimmstrom polycounter lvl 7
    I'm another graduate of Teesside, so I'll also answer any questions you might have.

    I did the straight out Games Art course and to be honest, I loved it. However as with any course, you can't expect them to teach you everything and then land a job at the end. You'll have to put in extra effort and self teach yourself certain things.

    Also I must admit, I did a years work experience at Eutechnyx, where I currently work, and I learnt more in that 1 year than I did in the previous 2 years at Uni

    Finally its been 4 years now since I graduated and at the time they weren't teaching any free SDK's such as UDK or CryEngine, really hope this has changed now.
  • rags
    Thanks a lot for all your feedback's guys :)
    I guess both the universities are good when it comes to Game Art, Herts has a better ranking than Teesside on the university league tables & Teesside has got specialization modules, which I liked..I guess it's a matter of choice

    @Di$array Did you do your MA in game art at teesside? If yes, what was your specialization?

    @Grimmstrom I believe they are teaching UDK now, atleast for MA.

    I'd also like to ask you guys about the place. Since I'm an international student & never been to UK so far, It would be nice if someone could share some info about the place.
    Middlesbrough or Hatfield? which one would be a better place for an international student?
  • rags
    hi guys

    Can someone provide me with some info on Middlesbrough & Hatfield??
  • IchII3D
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    IchII3D polycounter lvl 12
    I'm assuming your not just going to make your choice based on the websites? I would highly recommend going to open days, see what the areas are like etc... If you do end up going to Teesside I highly recommend getting a spot in King Edwards Square (make sure your early), its a little more expensive but was such a blast living there.

    As for the University I went to Teesside.... 3 or 4 years ago... can't remember... At that point the Univercity was in a bit of a state, the course was way behind the times and a lot of people complained.

    But, the people running the course listened and slowly but surely they have restructured and reformed the whole course (I think this is where a lot of the mixed messages come from Teesside).

    Another bonus to think about with Teesside is its literally the cheapest place to live in the UK, you get a lot of international students there and some great nights out, on the cheap :P Considering how much Univercity costs these days its probably a major bonus. As for Teesside itself, its a bit of a dogs arse. But I never had any trouble apart from the odd chav being a dickhead.

    The facility's where being completely rebuilt when I was there and luckily where open for my final year with xeon 8 core PC's and 8800's (take into account this was 3-4 years ago)

    Also one last thing, when at University you will see a lot of people doing nothing, waiting until the last minute to hand in there work or generally just being idiots treating the whole thing like high school. Just remember your spending like £8000 a year to go there. Don't waste your money. There is a balance between enjoying yourself while at the same time staying on top of your work. Its about being consistent in small dosages.
  • SA_22
    just got done with teesside this year... i have mixed feelings about it but that is mainly because i lived in newcastle and had to spend 3-4 hours on a bus a day.

    firstly for game art the course i took.. the first year if you already know the basics is a throw away, you might pick up a few tricks but nothing special... the second year you'll have a environment, character and mechanical module at the start of the year a long with a art class. then in the second half of the year you work on a game with the whole year... sounds fun but was a huge headache ( we were the experiment year for this project and things weren't so smooth, but seem to have went alil better this year) third year is mostly your final project which can be pretty much anything you want to make, split with a group project where you make a game, also you'll have another art class and theory stuff..

    for me i felt that there wasn't enough staff for the amount of students there, and alot of the students didn't really have a clue, definatley was a huge gap between the people that knew what they were doing and the people that would stay up all night playing wow a day before a team presentation that the rest of the team where working all night on... THX!... i'am not bitter!! lol..

    if i had moved down there i would probably had more fun with the course but kinda happy to be over it..

    the staff mostly know what there doing and are helpful when they have the time. the facilities are pretty nice, max, maya, mudbox, photoshop, udk etc... but with the amount of students you can find it hard to grab a computer some times.

    kind of a negative review but most of the things i picked out are probably the same for other places, that and i guess i was expecting alil more for the money.

    i think aslong as your willing to put in the time, work that lil extra bit harder and teach yourself it shouldn't really matter where you go...
  • imyj
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    imyj polycounter lvl 13
    Just thought I'd add my thoughts in case someone ends up at this thread through searching for the same stuff in the future :)

    I went to Abertay and felt that the opportunities made available to me were really good in terms of networking and working in teams. Although I never did the Masters degree, it is basically working in teams on 3 games. You start by working with 1-2 people then it scales up to as many as 10; eventually working like a small games company. The employment rate is pretty high with past Masters students now working at companies in the UK such as Blitz Games, Codemasters, Sony and Traveller's Tales. The Undergraduate courses from the Art side of things have a much lower employment rate but I think this is quite common across the UK. The advantage of Abertay is that it's in Dundee which is a super cheap place to stay and it's pretty welcoming of people of all backgrounds :) I think the Masters might even have some funding available for overseas applicants.

    As with most universities you'll find that people will have mixed views on their experience. My advice would be to look at the coursework / course contents and see if they are suited to what you want to do with your career. After that, consider the following: What do you need the degree for? Could you learn the same stuff in your own time? What are the facilities like? How many students are on the course? Does the university have strong ties to the industry? Is it easy to form teams? How many past students have found employment?

    Like people said above, if you're willing to put the effort in then it doesn't really matter if you have a degree or not and it matters even less where the degree is from. If you're talented then you'll get a job. If you're from outside of the UK (and there aren't any games companies in your area) and a Masters degree is an option - then go for it! :) If I was in that position then I would just look for the one which made it easiest for me to get the Masters degree whilst focussing on my art in my free time.
  • rags
    Thank you so much for the feedback guys, it's been really helpful :)
    So I guess it all boils down to how much of additional effort we put in during our spare time. BTW, I got a call from one of the Teesside guys a few days back & he was really friendly & cleared most of my doubts I had about the university.
    I still have one doubt however (just didn't think about this when I spoke to him), why is it that the course starting in Feb is 16 months while the one starting in September is a year?
  • Wombatinahat
    Hey man,

    I did the MA games art (environment) course at Teesside a few years back and I can say that the Uni has great facilities including a 24 hour lab specifically for master students which has everything you need to work. There is also a huge number of international students at the uni and theres an internation society as well to help you fit in. As far as the teaching goes it is very much focused on self learning. Don't expect to be taken by the hand. This is the main problem with Teesside, the tutors, at least when I was there, are of varying skill (to be polite about it) And as for the area, Middlesbrough is small, has all the amenities you'd need and it is cheap to live there. It isn't without problems tho and has (or had at least when I was there) a bit of a crime problem. I got burgled while I was there but that could happen anywhere really. Hope that helps!
  • rags
    Thanks for the info Wombatinahat..:)
    I have plans of taking up environment myself. As far as the teaching goes, I guess it's the same in most if not all of the universities, it's more of an individual effort.
    Well, I've heard from quite a few people that Middlesbrough is known for it's high crime rate & that's what worries me :(
  • Teessider
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    Teessider polycounter lvl 11
    Hey, I'm currently a student at Teesside University and I would recommend it although the area as Wombatinahat says isn't the best due to some of the people (I should know I have been living in the Teesside area all my life lol) living here. The crime rate this year has been the lowest it has been in the past 10 years. The immediate area around the University is very nice and is well kept. There is 24 security at the university and as far as the lecturers are concerned, they have brought in new lecturers and every time I have had a problem with my work, they have helped me out (although it is still very much self taught as far the software side of things is concerned but they point you to places/books where can learn it).

    The Nightlife in Middlesbrough is pretty vibrant, there is something for everyone :)
  • Irreal
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    Irreal polycounter lvl 10
    4 of the environments artists on Mass Effect 3 (myself included) studied at Teeside University. I imagine the course has changed considerably since I was there. It wasn't perfect by any means and the level of tuition was all over the place. Even back then a lot of teachers just weren't cutting edge enough to teach students modern videogame art. The only really standout teacher for me was Paul Docherty who taught me 3ds max. As far as the city goes, yeh, it's got it's problems, crime, shitty fucking hoodie wearing retard kids, sick everwhere (maybe I was responsible for some of that) and a crap football team. However, the night life is great and there's a ton of fit girls in and around the university and nightclubs. Best years of my life blah-blah blah.
  • rags
    Thank you so much for the info guys :)
    It's good to know that people from Teesside are working in some of the top studios. I still have one question unanswered. Why is it that the MA course starting in Feb is 15 months while the one starting in Sep is only a year?? I mean, why is that 3 months difference even though it's the same course?
    Anyone??
  • Di$array
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    Di$array polycounter lvl 5
    rags wrote: »
    Thank you so much for the info guys :)
    It's good to know that people from Teesside are working in some of the top studios. I still have one question unanswered. Why is it that the MA course starting in Feb is 15 months while the one starting in Sep is only a year?? I mean, why is that 3 months difference even though it's the same course?
    Anyone??

    That is the Master's Course. Which you can enroll on once you've completed your graduate degree rags.

    Like most on the past page I have mixed feeling about the course as I attended it during the experimental phase when they where restructing the course. It was a bit of a nightmare but I can imagine the final outcome of the course will be solid and well rounded. I believe they are starting the group project a year early now rather than leaving it to the final year. Which I believe will pay off in the long run.

    The course is under staffed (Well at least when I was there) but they do have some outstanding tutors (Tim and Dave) that will always have time for you to answer any question or address any problem you might be having with the course.

    Night life is like any night life in the North, friendly, cheap and loud. But I'd recommend having some ID on you as you'll practically be asked at the door of every nightclub (and I don't look young for my age. I'm a right hairy beast). Also getting around Middlesbrough (or the Boro) is fine as boro taxi charages you £2.40 to go anywhere within Middlesbrough. But as with any place in the world it has it's good and bad places. You'll get a feel of the place when you are there and where you should go and where you shouldn't.

    I'll post more soon but I need to get ready to go out.
  • sdmitchell
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    sdmitchell polycounter lvl 6
    Don't be put off by the crime rate, honest! It does have it's problems but I have lived in Teesside all my life (including right in the centre of Middlesbrough for the past year) and I've never been directly effected by it. It's generally a nice area, people are friendly and it has everything you need.

    As for the university itself it has superb facilities. It has a nice amount of computer labs with ace computers, all with dual screens and Max, Maya, Photoshop, Mudbox (not ZBrush, unfortunately). Everyone is really helpful, the labs are a great place to get advice and feedback.

    There are upsides and downsides to every course, but it will definitely push you in the right direction. If you want more information on the course I'm sure they'd be happy to provide you with an email of the tutor in charge who could tell you more.

    The students are the uni are pretty awesome as well. ;) It you do decide on Teesside, make sure to pop along to the Gaming society! 'Cause I'll be (partly) running it in September. :)
  • jfeez
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    jfeez polycounter lvl 8
    Hey, i just finished at teesside this year. As with any course you have to put the work in so dont expect any hand holding. Its already been said there are some very good tutors, just get to know them and they will always have time and give excellent crit (tim, dave, deepak, shaf and paul are great for art/animation)

    As for the crime rate, it is high and some of people in the area are not pleasant to be around, but the majority are fine. You just have to avoid the bad areas (crescent road is one). Nightlife is pretty good as well.

    Some people have mixed feelings about the course, however i know it changed quite alot the year i started so i imagine they where on the old course(s). If you want to know more just pm me
  • Gestalt
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    Gestalt polycounter lvl 11
    I believe Christophe Riccio went to Teesside for game programming, not that that necessarily means much (especially for art), but I'd take it as a good sign.
  • rags
    They have 2 batches in the master's course, one that starts in Sep & an other that starts in Feb (Both of them are masters) but the duration of the course is different. The one that starts in Sep is a year whereas the one that starts in Feb is 15 months. My question is, although both of them are the same masters course, why is there a 3 month time difference?
    Di$array wrote: »
    That is the Master's Course. Which you can enroll on once you've completed your graduate degree rags.

    Like most on the past page I have mixed feeling about the course as I attended it during the experimental phase when they where restructing the course. It was a bit of a nightmare but I can imagine the final outcome of the course will be solid and well rounded. I believe they are starting the group project a year early now rather than leaving it to the final year. Which I believe will pay off in the long run.

    The course is under staffed (Well at least when I was there) but they do have some outstanding tutors (Tim and Dave) that will always have time for you to answer any question or address any problem you might be having with the course.

    Night life is like any night life in the North, friendly, cheap and loud. But I'd recommend having some ID on you as you'll practically be asked at the door of every nightclub (and I don't look young for my age. I'm a right hairy beast). Also getting around Middlesbrough (or the Boro) is fine as boro taxi charages you £2.40 to go anywhere within Middlesbrough. But as with any place in the world it has it's good and bad places. You'll get a feel of the place when you are there and where you should go and where you shouldn't.

    I'll post more soon but I need to get ready to go out.
  • rags
    As far as the crime rate is concerned, I feel it's not all that bad after reading some of the posts here. Like jfeez has mentioned earlier, I guess I'll have to just avoid the bad areas & I should be fine. :D
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